


Heroes stick together

by keinekatze132



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Superman - All Media Types
Genre: Diana is a close friend of Clark and Bruce, M/M, slowburn and a lot of shenanigans, there won’t be any love triangles
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-01-26 09:24:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,722
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21371863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/keinekatze132/pseuds/keinekatze132
Summary: When someone tries to track down their secret identities Clark and Diana decide to stay at Wayne Manor until the case is solved. Clark quickly notices, that living with Bruce Wayne is an adventure on its own.
Relationships: Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne
Comments: 26
Kudos: 143





	1. Chapter 1

Clark was traveling with super speed back to his apartment. Today's mission had been simple. A secret basement laboratory had caught fire while producing illegal weapons. He viewed it as a lucky coincidence. Obviously he would have noticed what was going on sooner or later, but the place catching fire had saved him a lot of work. After all, nobody got hurt and he managed to help arresting most of the staff. The only thing troubling him was, that he had no idea who was behind this.

He was getting close to his flat when suddenly he noticed a quiet electrical humming with a constant frequency that had been following him. He hadn't noticed it earlier between all of metropolis's noise, but it clearly was a wiretap. He stopped himself from cursing and flew past his apartment. He had to land somewhere public in order to get rid of this thing. He saw the city hall's silhouette in front of him. Its roof had to be good enough. In a matter of seconds he had located the wiretap in his cape and crushed it under his boot. To be save he flew off in a different direction and took the long way home.

That evening he could barely get any work for the daily planet done. It was troubling that someone was trying to figure out superman’s secret identity. People were not supposed to believe he even had one. He was very aware, that if people were to figure out Clark Kent was Superman, his friends and family were in danger. He decided to address the topic at the next league's meeting.

It took two weeks until he visited the tower again. He had been playing with the thought to call in an emergency meeting, but he felt uncomfortable bothering everyone with his personal problems. After all, he knew that the others had their whole secret identity thing better managed than he did. He couldn’t imagine Bruce for example ever being surprised by a wiretap.

In the last weeks someone had tried to track him down three more times. It always followed the same pattern. He did a seemingly easy rescue mission, only to notice that someone had bugged him while he was busy saving people. Everyone involved had mysteriously disappeared afterwards, but Clark was sure it couldn't be the same people every time. This was happening on a bigger scale.

He landed at the tower. He was supposed to meet Diana and Bruce later to compare notes and discuss tactics. It had become a regular occurrence for them. Bruce was already sitting in the empty conference room, typing something on a small black laptop. Clark assumed, if he asked him he would tell him it was the "Bat-laptop". Most of his face was covered by his mask, but he could tell he had a troubled look on his face.

Clark sat down next to him, careful not to interrupt him in his work. Batman greeted him with a nod. For his standards that was pretty kind. Clark had a hard time telling whether they had become friends, but he liked to think they were.

He could hear someone stomping in heeled boots in the distance. The steps were getting closer fast. The door was pushed open and Diana entered. She looked angry.

"We need to talk" she said.

Apparently Diana had been facing the same troubles he had. It was like someone was actively trying to hunt down superheroes. Bruce had been quiet the entire time Diana and Clark had told their stories. Now he cleared his throat. 

“You might find this interesting” he said as he pulled a small paper out of his pocket. It was a sticky note. Something was scribbled on it in a messy hand writing. Clark leant forwards to read it.

Hey Bats!  
  
I got some news from Gotham and it looks like you and your hero friends should watch your backs! Try not to get everyone you love executed!  
  
Love,  
H.Q.  


Clark frowned. “H.Q.? Is this…?” he asked.

Bruce nodded. “Harley Quinn has been leaving notes for me about the Joker’s plans ever since the two of them broke up” he explained. “I don’t know how she does it. As far as I know she is living in New York nowadays. I found this one stuck on a tied up robber in a jewelry store.”

Clark was impressed how casual Bruce was about this. Gotham must be a strange place to live. 

Diana crossed her arms. “Are you telling me the Joker is behind this?” she asked. 

“It’s not really his style, is it? But we’ll have to follow all the leads we have” Bruce said, already typing something on his laptop.

“I would suggest that neither Clark nor I return to our civilian lives until this mess is solved” Diana suggested. He noticed that he only had a basic idea of what Diana did when she was not Wonder Woman. He knew she was moving in the same circles as Bruce, but he had no idea how she earned her money. She had mentioned sometime that she was watching her friend’s cat, but that was about all he knew about her social life. 

He tried to concentrate at the issue at hand. “I’ll have to think about a good cover up story, but I agree” he said. A little uncertain he added “Do you think we can just stay in the tower?” It was not meant for long time stays.

“That won’t be necessary” Bruce said. “Wayne manor is one of the safest places in the world. Alfred can prepare rooms for you”.

Clark looked at him in surprise. “Really?” he asked, instantly realizing how dumb he sounded. 

Diana smiled. “That would be great” she said. “I believe the hot water at the tower still isn’t fixed”.

That’s how it was decided. “I’ll meet the two of you at the Batcave tomorrow evening” Bruce said, “That should give you enough time for preparations.” 

Clark had a good excuse for why he had to work from home for a few weeks ready to go. He and his Mother had agreed, that he could pretend she had been injured whenever he needed to. He told Perry and his few close friends that he had to help her with the farm until she recovered. Nobody besides Louise questioned it, and she knew it was better not to know Superman’s whereabouts. Perry allowed him to do his work from home. He made sure to quickly fly home to inform Mom in person about what was going on.

He ended up spending most of the afternoon at the farm. His mother invited him for cake and he told her about the last weeks. To his relieve she wasn't overly worried. When he asked her if she was okay she said:

"I'm sure I'll be safe. You and your friends will fix this in no time"

Clark wished he had her confidence, but he was glad he didn’t have to leave her scared at home. He promised to let her know if anything happened.

It was early in the evening when he arrived at the batcave. He had ended up only packing a backpack full of some clothes and a second super suit. It was not like he was going on a holiday. He hadn't been in the cave that often. Batman usually didn't need superman's help. He could hear the quiet beating of Bruce's heart and the occasional rustle of clothes further inside so he felt free to enter.

His steps sounded loud on the metal floor and the noise was reflected from the walls. He always forgot how gigantic this place was. He walked past the bat-mobile and found Bruce sitting in front of a gigantic computer in the back of the cave. Clark noticed he was wearing civilian clothing and suddenly felt a little stupid showing up in his costume.

"Hey, uhh... I let myself in" he said.

Bruce looked up. "Yes" he said, his thoughts apparently somewhere else. He pressed a button on the desk on front of him. "Alfred can you show Clark to his room?" he asked into a microphone. 

He stood next to Bruce awkwardly until Alfred arrived. Somehow he felt a little disappointed about the nonexistent greeting. He shook his head and tried to get it together. It was not like he had been invited to a sleepover. He was relieved when Alfred entered and the silence was broken. 

“Follow me, Master Kent” he said, “Miss Prince has already settled in her Room”. With a glance at Bruce he added “She’ll be glad to see you”. Bruce mumbled something back as he followed Alfred upstairs into the manor. 

Clark had never been inside of Wayne Manor before. Somehow he had always imagined metal flooring similar to the batcave and cold modern furniture. In reality it looked more like one of the castles he had visited on a family holiday in England when he was a child. Still, it didn’t look very homely. They walked past a huge oil painting of what must be Bruce and his parents. Bruce looked no older than five in it. Clark had a hard time imagining him as a child, playing in these hallways. Did he ever bring friends home before his parents died?

Alfred led him upstairs. “These are the guest rooms” he said, pointing towards an entire hallway. “We don’t get to use them often anymore, but don’t worry! I’ve cleaned of the dust”. There was a hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Clark thanked him and Alfred showed him to a room. He could hear someone move around in the room on the opposite side and he recognized the sound of Diana’s heartbeat. 

“I shall return in time to pick you up for dinner” Alfred said and then added: “Master Wayne has allowed you and Miss Prince to move around the manor as freely as you like, Master Kent”. With that he closed the door and left Clark alone to unpack.

The room was probably bigger than his entire flat in metropolis and included a small bathroom. The furniture looked like it’d probably cost more than Clark earned in a whole year. He wondered whether all the guest rooms looked like this or if Alfred had picked out the best ones for Diana and him.

It didn’t take long for him to unpack the content of his backpack, even though he didn’t use super speed. His flannels looked a little sad in the huge closet and he wondered whether he should have brought more clothes. He shrugged it off. After all he could be in Metropolis in a matter of seconds to grab a spare shirt and he didn’t want to give Bruce the impression that he was moving in. He changed into civilian clothing before leaving to greet Diana.

He knocked on her door. She smiled at him as she opened it, telling him to come in. Her room looked exactly like Clark’s, but while his windows had a view of Wayne property he could see Gotham’s skyline from her room. An opened book was laying on her bed. Taking a closer look, it turned out to be a historical novel set in Greece. Diana shoved it aside as she sat down on the bed, signaling him to take a seat in the armchair. 

“Good to see you safe” she said. He snorted. It wasn’t like anyone had to seriously worry about Superman.

“And you” he said and he could see an amused glimmer in her eyes. 

“I hope this whole thing isn’t more dangerous than it seems” she said. “Who in their right mind would challenge Wonder Woman and Superman?”

Clark shifted uncomfortably. He could think of a few names from the top of his head. “We better find out” he said.

They spent the next hour comparing their stories. It became more and more clear that this had to be part of a big scheme and Clark noticed he was glad they had taken steps to protect their identities in time. They were still making a list of who would be interested in tracking them down when Alfred returned.

They followed him into the kitchen and Clark was glad Bruce hadn’t planned a formal Dinner. Bruce was leaning against a wall, reading something that looked a lot like a stolen police report. He put it away once they entered. He looked happy to see them. 

“Are the rooms okay?” he asked walking towards the table. 

Clark laughed. “They are amazing!” he said. Diana looked at him amused and Bruce couldn’t hide a tiny smile. Clark was a little embarrassed for sounding like a farm boy, but after all he was a farm boy, so what did they expect. 

He took a seat and noticed, that none of the chairs matched. It looked like someone had collected spare chairs from other rooms to set up a table big enough for four people. Somehow it made Clark feel at home. Alfred had made pumpkin pie and joined them at the table. Clark had always found it a little strange that Alfred was at the same time a butler and something like a father for Bruce. He wondered if the two of them felt the same way about it.

The food was great. They sat together long after they had finished and told anecdotes about their superhero lives. Clark couldn’t remember them ever being together in a casual manner like this. He enjoyed talking to people who could relate to his struggles. He had never realize how much he needed something like this.

Diana was telling a story that happened long before Clark and Bruce were born, which involved a burning circus tent and a horde of elephants when suddenly a shrill alarm bell rang. Clark involuntarily covered his ears, taken by surprise by the sudden noise. Bruce pressed a button on his watch and the bell stopped.

“Someone activated the bat-signal” he said. “I’ve got to go”. Clark could have sworn he looked disappointed as he got up. 

“The bat mobile is ready, Sir” Alfred said. “I shall make sure your guests feel at home”.

Clark and Diana exchanged a look. It was weird to get a taste of his own medicine. Usually Clark was the one to leave people waiting while Superman was needed somewhere else. He sighed. This was bound to be interesting.


	2. Chapter 2

Clark woke up when Batman returned to the Manor. It was late at night. He could hear the sound of the bat-mobile’s ties below the manor, followed by heavy steps that walked into a room on the floor above him. Something heavy dropped on the floor with a metallic sound, followed by something else that sounded like boots being kicked off. It took Clark a second to realize that the first thing was probably Batman’s mask. He could hear Bruce drop into the bed, his breathing becoming even right away. Clark grinned, realizing that Batman had just fallen asleep still wearing his suit. It was oddly relatable. He turned over to the colder side of his bed and went back to sleep. 

In the morning he was awoken by the faint smell of coffee. It took a moment before he remembered where he was. He yawned and got dressed, looking forward for breakfasts. He followed the smell of food and found Diana and Alfred sitting in a dining room on the 3rd floor. The table was placed in front of a huge window facing the gardens. It was set for four.

Diana looked up from the newspaper she was reading and smiled at him. He sat down next to her and Alfred served him a cup of coffee in which Clark mixed so much sugar Diana lifted an eyebrow. He grabbed a toast and Alfred and Diana returned to where their conversation stopped when he had entered the room.

He had already finished his coffee when he first heard Bruce moving around in his room. He could hear the sound of a shower and forced himself to stop listening. A short time later Bruce entered the dining room in a bathrobe.

Besides the rings under his eyes, which Clark assumed were permanent at this point, nothing suggested he had spent most of the night fighting crime. He took a cup of coffee from Alfred and started drinking it black. Clark wondered if he was putting up a show.

"Did everyone sleep well? Are the rooms okay?" Bruce asked, playing the host. Clark nodded his mouth full of toast.

"Like a baby" Diana said.

Bruce apparently was in no hurry getting to work. He had breakfast in peace, listening to the conversation relaxed. Clark assumed that was one of the perks of being his own boss. It was almost noon when he left the Manor.

Clark decided to get some work done himself. Alfred showed him to a small study in which he could work during his stay. Clark set up his laptop and turned on a news broadcast on his phone. He wouldn’t have Superman disappear at the same time as Clark Kent.

There were a few stories he had to finish for the daily planet. He had interviewed a local garden club earlier that week and finally got the time to write the story. It was easier to focus on his work here than it was at the planet building. The only close noises were Diana turning pages in her book from a living room and the faint sounds of Alfred doing laundry.

He had almost finished his first story of the day, when the news reported a burning office building in Metropolis. In no time he had changed into his super suit and arrived at the scene. He eased his bad conscience about being far from where he was needed by realizing that flying from Gotham to Metropolis was probably faster than making up a good excuse why he was leaving every time he was needed.

The building was secured in less than an hour and Superman's intervention prevented worse from happening. When he returned to Wayne Manor Alfred had left him some tea on the desk. Clark made a mental note to thank him later.

It was late afternoon when he felt like he had gotten enough work for his daytime job done. He joined Diana in the living room, who was working on something on her phone. He sat down next to her and she put her phone away.

"Saved the world again?" she asked.

Clark grinned. "I hope so," he said.

"I wasn't doing nothing myself" she said, picking up an old fashioned notebook from the coffee table. "This is a list of all the people I could imagine profiting from discovering Superman's and Wonder Woman’s identities".

She handed it to Clark. Obviously the list was huge.

"You did this in one day?" he asked impressed.

Diana nodded. "I am afraid it isn't very specific though" she said. "We'll have to gather more evidence".

Clark agreed. He flipped through the pages and saw some familiar names. Lex Luthor was pretty close to the top. So were Dark Angel and the Joker. He shuddered thinking about any of them messing with his civilian live.

"We really need to discuss this once Bruce is back" Diana decided.

Clark leaned back. "What do we do until then?" he asked.

Diana grinned. "Alfred said we could move through the Manor freely, didn't he?" she asked.

Clark knew where this was going. "No way! I'm not snooping through Bruce’s things!” he said. For some reason the idea filled him with terror.

"It's not snooping when you are allowed to do it!" she argued already getting up.

"Diana wait!" he said.

Diana gave him a wicked look. "Relax. I didn't plan to go through his panty drawers" she said and Clark could feel himself blush. "Let's explore a little".

Clark sighed. "Alright I'll come along. But only to make sure you are not snooping!" he said.

Diana pulled up an eyebrow. "Alright" she said.

It was hard navigating in the Manor. It seemed like multiple different stairs were scattered around the building, which meant that you had to sometimes leave a floor in order to reach another room on the same floor. Clark was a little afraid to get lost since he didn't want to use his x-ray vision on the building in respect of Bruce's privacy.

The first floor had an open design. It seemed to be made for guests to wander around. There was an impressive dining room that led into what looked like an old fashioned ballroom. The ballroom looked like it wasn't used anymore. Most of the furniture and a piano were covered with white sheets.

Diana walked towards the piano. With careful hands she lifted the covers and played a few notes. It sounded good to Clark but Diana shook her head. "Out of tune" she explained.

They left the ballroom and found themselves at the foot of another set of stairs that lead to a huge wooden door.

"This looks interesting" Diana said, already opening it.

Accepting his fate Clark followed her inside. The room turned out to be a private library. The walls were covered in bookshelves and a huge wooden desk was placed below a big window. A few armchairs were set around a coffee table. Most of the books looked old. Clark assumed they had antique value. Something about the soft carpet and the smell of books made the room feel homely.

Diana was smiling all over. "This is more what I expected from Wayne Manor" she said. Carefully she inspected the books.

Clark wandered off to the modern section. To his surprise he found a shelf full of light literature, including some crime thrillers and even romance. He checked the publication date of an especially cheesy one. It was old enough to have belonged to either of Bruce's parents. He couldn't quite see Batman relaxing with a book, he only knew little about Bruce's private life though. Thinking about Bruce being domestic gave him a warm feeling which he quickly pushed aside.

Diana had settled in an armchair with a gigantic book about Greek mythology that looked like it was a lot older than Clark was.

"Are these accurate?" he asked, trying get rid of the picture of Bruce reading in cozy pajamas.

Diana shook her head. "That's what fun about it" she explained.

He shrugged and picked a crime novel. It looked like they were going to spend the rest of the afternoon in here.

Clark was completely lost in the story when he could hear Bruce’s limousine outside the Manor.

“He is back” Clark announced to Diana.

With a nod to the Window she said “It’s about time”. It was already dark outside. Clark wondered how much time had passed. The big grandfather clock in the library seemed to be stuck. 

Bruce made his way straight to the library, which had Clark suspect that he had known their position all along. Thinking about it, the entire Manor was probably cover in the newest surveillance technology. He felt dumb for sneaking around earlier. Had Diana known? He had to suppress the urge to shake his head. Obviously she had. She had been making a fool of him the entire time, waiting for him to notice. 

Bruce entered the Library with a short “I am back”. He sat down in an armchair and loosened his necktie. Clark tried hard not to stare. He didn’t know what had gotten into him. “Did you make any progress in our case?” he asked into the room.

Clark was surprised. “Don’t you want to relax a little after work first?” he asked.

Bruce looked at him like he was the weird one for assuming he would need rest.

“Alright never mind” Clark said quickly. “Diana made a list”. He met Diana’s eyes, hoping she would rescue him, which thankfully she did. 

She grabbed her list and started to explain who she added and who she left out. She had also sorted them by significance, even though she agreed, that making assumptions based on villains’ usual behavior often led to mistakes. There were over fifty names on the list.

“We should also consider that we might be dealing with somebody entirely new” she ended her explanation.

“Good work” Bruce said with a nod. Diana grinned.

“You only get the best work from me” she said. Clark couldn’t blame her for bragging. Her research was extraordinary, only matched maybe by Bruce’s. 

Bruce ignored her. "We might be able to narrow it down" he said. His voice sounded more like Batman's when he was thinking. "The computer in the Batcave can access security cameras and Police data". He stood up. "Come on. We have much footage to watch".

The cold air of the cave immediately made Clark feel less tired. He wondered whether Bruce did that on purpose. They settled in front of the huge wall of screens and Alfred brought some coffee. Bruce had hacked into the security footage of Arkham asylum. For obvious reasons the insides of the cells were not filmed, but Clark was watching the recordings of the corridors, looking out for unusual activity or visitors.

Diana was sorting through Metropolis police records to check on some minor villains. In the meantime Bruce was listening to recordings of interrogations that were made after the incidents where Diana or Clark had been bugged while working on a small device. Clark gave him a curious look.

"It's a jamming transmitter" he explained. "It would be useful if you didn't have to break the bug next time you get bugged. This little thing will stop it from transmitting your position so you can bring it here to track it back"

“That’s a great idea” Diana said. Bruce shrugged off the compliment.

Clark watched the security footage until his eyes hurt. He had always respected Bruce for his detective work, but this finally had him realize how exhausting it was. They were able to cross out about 3 names when they first took a break. According to the clock on the computer it was 1 in the morning.

Clark let himself rest his head on the desk for a second to relax his eyes a little. Before he even realized how tired he was he had fallen asleep.

The cave was freezing when Clark woke up but surprisingly he wasn't cold. He sat up and a jacket fell off his shoulders. He picked it up. It was Bruce's. He and Diana must have already left. Clark had no idea what time it was, but he felt a little embarrassed falling asleep while his friends were working.

He shivered and picked up the jacket. It smelled like Bruce. Clark could feel his heart beat raise. It was really nice of Bruce to lend it to him. Clark had to stop himself from sniffing it. This was not good, he realized. He was totally having a crush. Obviously Bruce was very attractive, but Clark had never been the type to swoon over every good looking man he met. Not quite sure what to do with that information he hung the jacket over Bruce’s chair and walked back towards the guest room. The first thing he should probably do was to catch some sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

Clark woke up in the soft guest bed in his room. He yawned and rolled to the other side of the bed. He was still tired after working on their case all night, even though he had probably gotten way more sleep then Diana and Bruce did. He remembered dozing off and waking up under Bruce’s jacket. He subconsciously pulled the blankets a little closer.

“Keep it together Clark, you’re too old to be acting like a teenager” he muttered to himself. 

At least he was awake now. He got dressed and went to look for breakfast. In the corridor he bumped into Diana. She looked tired and her hair was a little messier than usual.

“Good Morning” she said, holding back a yawn.

“I’m glad to see I’m not the only tired one” Clark said, putting on a smile. 

Diana shook her head. “I have no idea how Bruce does this all the time” she admitted, “If I had to guess which one of you was human I would probably get it wrong”. 

Clark laughed in agreement. 

They found Bruce and Alfred sharing breakfast in the small dining room they had been in the day before. Alfred looked up over his morning paper.

“I see Master Bruce’s sleeping habits are contagious” the butler noted with a hint of humor.

Clark took a look out of the window. It was a cold morning and some mist remained close to the ground, but the sun was already pretty high. Noticing how hungry he was, Clark helped himself to some eggs and bacon. 

“I’m sorry for dozing off yesterday” he said, carefully avoiding Bruce’s eyes. 

Bruce waved it off. “I’m afraid you didn’t miss much” he said, sounding a little frustrated. He quickly summarized the few results he and Diana were able to work out without him. They hadn’t been able to cross many names off Diana’s list. Bruce had even added a few.

“After all we need more leads” Bruce concluded and Diana nodded in agreement. 

“Is that jamming transmitter ready?” Clark asked, hoping to contribute in some way.

“It is. I made one for each of you” Bruce said. He seemed to be glad that there was at least some progress.

“Our next goal should be to get our hands on one of those bugs then, right?” Clark asked. At least his superpowers would be useful for that. 

Diana sat up a little, also looking glad to be able to take action. “Let’s get out there” she said, “Take every case we can get and hope for the best”.

Bruce got up. “It’s decided then” he said. “I should probably get to work. Alfred will explain the jamming transmitter to you”. And he added almost apologetic “I can’t skip work every time batman has a case. It would be too obvious”.

Clark was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected him to even consider taking a day off. “There is nothing we can do but wait anyway” he said. Bruce shrugged and walked off.

Clark tried to fit in some of his daytime work as good as possible. He was in the middle of reviewing an article when Diana knocked on the door to the study. Concentrating on work, he hadn’t even noticed her return to the Manor. 

"Come on in" he called.

Diana was still wearing her costume. She let herself fall into a chair looking exhausted.

"Anything new?" Clark asked.

Diana groaned. "I busted a human trafficking ring, lifted a truck out of a lake and stopped a robbery" she said yawning. "Also I think I gave some kid dealing drugs the scare of his lifetime while walking by". She shrugged. “Maybe it gave him a lesson”.

Clark was mildly impressed.

"But no" she shook her head. "Nothing new in the case".

Clark sank back into his chair. "Yeah I've got nothing as well" he said.

Diana looked a little disappointed. "Well nothing is ever easy, is it?" she asked.

Clark nodded in agreement.

"So any progress in your other case?" Diana asked, leaning forward a little.

"My other case?" he asked confused. “Are you talking about my article about the gardening club?”

Diana grinned. "Your crush on Bruce" she said.

Clark could feel his heart skip a beat. Already blushing he asked "My what?"

"You are a terrible liar" Diana said crossing her arms. “But you can keep your secrets if you want to”. She put on a poker face Louise would have been proud of.

Clark looked at her dumbly. "Is it that obvious?" he asked.

"Oh come on. I know you guys" Diana said. "This has been going on for ages".

"It has?" Clark wasn't sure they were talking about the same thing.

Diana rolled her eyes at him. "So what are you going to do about it" she asked.

Clark shrugged. "Probably nothing" he admitted.

Diana looked a little disappointed. "Why not" she asked.

Clark sighed. He couldn't believe he was discussing his love live with Wonder Woman. The fact that she was in costume didn't help. But they were close friends. That's what friends did, wasn't it?

"I don't know. We are colleagues and our work is saving many lives" he said hesitating.

Diana looked at him like she wanted to ask "And?"

"I don't want to complicate things when lives are at stake. It’s not like I can just quit when this goes badly" he said. The truth in it made him shiver. He hadn't admitted his issues to himself before.

Diana put a hand on his shoulder. "I never got that about mankind" she said. "On Themyscira we think different about these kind of bonds".

"What do you mean?" Clark asked.

"We believe that romantic bonds make you stronger. The love between warriors is celebrated and encouraged. There is incredible strength in love" she explained.

Clark blushed again. "That's really poetic Diana, but I don't even know if he is into me yet!" He shook his head. "I don't even know if he is into men. And I am not even human!" He sounded whiny even in his own ears.

Diana sighed and petted his back. "You know, for someone with supervision you make me wonder whether you have eyes way too often" she said as she got up to leave.

"Diana wait! What do you mean?" he called behind her, but she just grinned as she left.

He exhaled, trying to get back to work. Mechanically he checked out his news tab when he saw a new notification. Apparently a truck carrying fresh cement had crashed on one of Metropolis’s busier intersections. For a second he played with the thought of simply ignoring it. His mind was still stuck on his conversation with Diana and it looked like the fire department would be able to handle it on their own. 

A quarter of a second later he found himself in full costume flying towards metropolis. He wouldn’t waste everyone’s time simply because he didn’t feel like getting up. With Superman’s help, traffic was back to normal in under an hour. He shook a few hands and accepted the thanks of the firemen and women. He left as soon as it was appropriate, hoping he could finally finish his article.

On his way back to Gotham he heard a familiar electrical humming. He had been bugged! “Finally” he whispered to himself, grinning as he realized what a ridiculous thing it was to say about being bugged. He quickly checked weather he was still carrying Bruce’s device. He really hoped it worked as he flew right into the Batcave. 

He found the cave empty. Clark didn’t know what he had expected. Bruce was still at work and a quick check told him that Diana was doing pushups in the garden. He located the bug on his cape. Not wanting to damage it he simply put his entire cape on a desk and placed Bruce’s transmitter next to it.

He took the stairs up to the Mansion. He went to Alfred first, making sure whether it was save to leave an active bug in the cave. 

“I can assure you there are no electromagnetic waves leaving or entering the Batcave” the Butler said kindly. “I shall inform Master Bruce about the progress right away if you don’t mind”. He pulled a headset out of a pocket.

Clark nodded. “Thank you Alfred!” he said. “I’ll go tell Diana”.

Once he had reached the gardens Diana had moved on to sword practice. She was swinging around a heavy log, practicing her stance. Clark cleared his throat from afar, not wanting to sneak up on her. He really didn’t want to find out whether Wonder Woman was capable of hurting him with a log. She twirled around and finished her move with a strike in his general direction. 

“Clark! Are you joining me for practice?” she asked.

“Not what I’m here for, but guess what?” he said.

“What?” she asked, playing along.

“I got bugged!” 

Diana’s face lighted up. “That’s great!” she said. “Well obviously it’s not great that you got bugged” she corrected herself. “But I’m happy we finally have a lead!”

“Me too” Clark said. “I really hope Bruce can get some information out of that thing”.

To their surprise Bruce came home about half an hour later. He joined them in the garden where Diana had talked Clark into training with her. "Alfred canceled my meeting" he explained. "Told them I didn't want to come".

Diana lifted an eyebrow. “You can do that?” she asked.

He shrugged. "I'm still Bruce Wayne".

"That’s cool" Clark said, hoping he didn’t sound too stupid as he cringed at his awkwardness. "I left my cape with the bug in the cave" he added quickly.

Bruce nodded and led them towards the cave. “Come on, we’ve got work to do”. 

Back in the cave Bruce carefully removed the bug using tweezers. Diana and Clark stood behind his chair, watching him while he cut it open to extract a microchip. Clark couldn’t help himself from noticing how good Bruce looked with the sleeves of his shirt rolled up. It was hypnotizing to see his strong hands carefully sort through wires.

Bruce connected the chip to his computer and cursed under his breath as multiple error codes appeared on screen.

“It’s protected, but I should have a program to stop it from destroying itself” he explained as he started typing in an amazing speed. Diana looked impressed, even though Clark knew she also had no idea what was going on. He had seen her use a keyboard and it had painfully reminded him of his Mother texting. Her strengths laid elsewhere. They silently listened to the sounds of Bruce typing for what felt like an eternity.

“I’ve got it” Bruce finally said. Clark exhaled a breath he didn’t know he was holding. A document full of what looked to him like random words, numbers and a lot of brackets appeared on the screen.

“Look at that” Bruce said, pointing to a line of numbers. 

Clark took one for the team. “You know that I have no idea what that means, right?” he asked. Diana nodded. 

Bruce rolled his eyes. “You guys should take an IT class sometime” he said.

“Maybe you could teach Clark” Diana suggested and he was tempted to kick her.

“Maybe I will” Bruce said and Diana winked at Clark behind his back. “Anyway, we are able to trace the bug back to a private satellite” he said. “I also happen to know whom it belongs to. LexCorp”.

Clark could have cursed. “So Luthor is behind this!” he said.

“At least he is involved” Diana deliberated. 

“I can’t believe he keeps messing with my life” Clark complained. “There is no way he is getting away with it this time”. 

Bruce gave him a sympathetic look. Clark supposed he knew all about villains being weirdly obsessed with one. “We’ll have to collect some better evidences” he said and with a glance to Diana he added “Also we need to figure out if anyone else is involved”. 

“He will destroy all proof once he notices we’re onto him” Clark said.

“So well have to find a way to get close to him without him noticing” Diana concluded. 

“I might know a way” Bruce said. He pressed a button on the desk in front of him and spoke into a microphone: “Alfred, did I receive an invite to Luthor’s Christmas gala this year?”

“I believe you and a ‘+1’ are invited, Master Bruce” the Butler responded. Clark subconsciously located Alfred in the kitchen. He appeared to be preparing dinner.

“That’s great” Clark said. “So you and Diana can get into his headquarters!”

Diana crossed her arms. “Who said I was going?” she asked.

“Alfred just said Bruce was allowed to bring a…” he started explaining before he realized what she was playing at. “Oh no! Diana that is an awful idea!” he said.

Bruce gave the two of them a slightly confused look. “One of you should probably come along” he said. “It’ll be easier to search the place together”.

Diana nodded along. “I’m sure Clark’s x-ray vision will be a lot of help. Also I am terrible at Smalltalk” she said. “I always mess up human customs”. 

Clark glared at her for the obvious lie. “Don’t you think it will be quite a risk to announce that Clark Kent knows Bruce Wayne?” he asked, trying to find a way out.

Bruce gave him an amused look. “Don’t worry. No one will recognize you if you wear a proper suit for once” he said. 

“Is there any other reason you don’t want to go?” Diana asked.

Clark clenched his teeth. He would totally pay Diana back later. “No” he lied. “But you guys know that this is peer pressure, right?”

“Don’t expect everyone else to play fair all the time, Superman” Bruce said, barely trying to hide a smile.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Listen, I know that I’m including about every worn out trope at this point, but I’m having fun and I hope so are you!

There was a little more than a week left until the Gala so Clark had just enough time to get nervous. At least he had some sort of distraction, since there was a lot to prepare and plan for. They had to get exact blueprints of the LexCorp property the event would be hosted at. It was a relatively new skyscraper in Metropolis where labs and offices were scattered around multiple floors, including an event space with a nice view over the city. Clark, Diana and Bruce were sitting around the breakfast table, planning the following week. 

“It would be the best if we knew about the security plans as well” Diana said. “It would make it easier for Alfred and me to navigate you through the building”.

Clark nodded in agreement. “I can hear the guards coming, but there is a chance that I miss some security cameras”.

“I’m going to find a way to hack their systems” Bruce said. “Let’s hope the servers are close to the Gala. If its multiple floors away it’ll be hard to talk us out of it, if we get caught”.

“Let’s hope we don’t get caught” Clark said, trying to be a little more optimistic.

Bruce gave him a tired look. “Yeah that too” he said.

Diana had started taking notes. “So how is you work schedule?” she asked.

“I have taken a day off tomorrow” Bruce said.

Clark looked up in surprise. Bruce usually didn’t mix up his work for the company with his vigilante activities. He felt a little disappointed, that he didn’t trust Diana and him with the preparations.

“I’m sorry Clark and I are such little help in preparing this mission” Diana said. She didn’t like sitting around anymore than Clark did.

Bruce shook his head. “I could do the hacking at night” he said, which earned him a worried look from Alfred. “There is something else left to do”.

Clark looked up curious. “What?” he asked. 

“We have to get Clark to a tailor” Bruce explained, making it sound like it was an emergency.

Clark frowned, thinking about spending hours getting a suit fitted. He knew Bruce would be over the top with it. “I could just fly back to Metropolis and get my own clothes” he suggested.

“No” Bruce said, giving him an earnest look.

“But I-“ Clark started to protest.

“No” Diana agreed. “Your fashion taste is awful”.

Clark blushed. “It’s part of the disguise” he tried to defend himself.

“Then why are you still dressed like this when you are not even wearing your glasses?” Diana asked, pointing on his shirt.

Clark had to force himself not to look down. He couldn’t remember which shirt he was currently wearing. There had been more important things on his mind that morning. He assumed that kind of proved their point though.

“Also you don’t want to be recognized as Clark Kent at the Gala, do you?” Bruce asked.

Clark had to admit he had another point. 

“Alright that settles it” Diana said. “You boys go shopping tomorrow. Maybe Alfred can give me a short introduction to the Bat-Computer in the meantime? I’ll help monitoring you during the mission”. She met Alfred’s eyes.

The Butler nodded. “It’ll be a pleasure, Miss Prince” he said.

Bruce drove them to the Taylor in a black sports car. Clark had never cared much for cars, but he could tell, that some of his friends from the planet would have given a lot to take a ride in this one. As it was, Clark had a hard time getting into the low passenger seat, nervous that he was going to break something. He kind of arranged his legs trying to sit comfortable. How did Bruce make this look cool?

Driving through Gotham, Clark noticed, that this was the first time he was alone with Bruce since he had somehow moved in with him. He tried to fight his sudden nervousness. Now would be the worst time to make things awkward. Bruce drove in silence, eyes focused on the street. It was a comfortable silence. It reminded Clark a lot of sitting in the Batmobile with Batman, which Clark had done on a few occasions, even though Superman didn’t usually need transportation. The link between Bruce and his persona cheered him up.

"What are you smiling about?" Bruce asked, meeting his eyes in the rearview mirror.

"You were just reminding me of a vigilante I know" Clark said.

"Sounds like a nice guy" Bruce said with a hint of humor. Clark snorted.

They pulled up to a posh looking tiny shop close to the main road. Bruce had made a reservation at the Taylor, which meant that the store was empty besides the middle aged saleswoman. She showed Bruce and him to a seating area and offered them some coffee. Clark felt like he had entered a complete different world.

The sales woman and Bruce were going over templates of fabric while he was quietly drinking his coffee. This looked even more complicated than he had expected. They finally decided on a gray fabric. After all, they were actively trying not to get too much attention.

Afterwards Clark had to get measured. The saleswoman actually hat to get a stool to reach his shoulders. He was a little nervous. It would be hard to explain, if a needle slipped and it broke, instead of piercing his skin. Bruce was leaning back, drinking another coffee while watching them. He didn't look worried, so Clark calmed down a little.

The woman worked quick and professional. No needles came even close to Clark's skin and he soon started to relax a little.

They left the store in the early afternoon. When they returned to the Manor, Clark could smell someone, probably Alfred, cooking something in the kitchen. Bruce dropt Clark off at the front gate and parked the car himself. The Gate opened and Diana’s voice greeted him from the intercom.

“Welcome back, Clark” she said, sounding cheerful.

He pressed a button to talk back. “So you figured out the systems?” he asked.

“I did!” she said. “It’s pretty easy actually!”

Clark smiled into the security camera, assuming she would see it. He hoped Diana was not too enthusiastic about monitoring. He really didn’t want both of his best friends to frequently lock themselves away to review hours of footage. Maybe the league should hire people to do this kind of jobs. He shrugged the thought off, assuming Bruce would never agree anyway.

Bruce spent the rest of the afternoon combing through blueprints from different stages of the LexCorp buildings construction. Diana helped him, by drawing a final map including the high security areas. Clark’s biggest contribution was flying over to metropolis to figure out which security company Lex was hiring. It was easy for him to use his x-ray vision to read the name on the uniforms of the security guards in the building. He could have sworn that Bruce had looked a little impressed when he had returned with the name in under a minute. As in most LexCorp properties there was a high amount of lead used in the Walls, which made it impossible for Clark to gather much more information. He wondered at what point this weakness of him had become semi-public knowledge.

Bruce hacked into the servers of the security company, finding out who was assigned to the building at the day of the Gala. It was a surprisingly high number of guards for an office building, which confirmed their suspicion that Luthor was maintaining a secret laboratory somewhere in the skyscraper. In the following days, they combined all information, concluding that the floor above the event space was the most likely to be the place, they were looking for. It was marked in the blueprints as a kitchen, but there had been no record of any kitchen appliances delivered to the building. It was lucky for Bruce and Clark since they would only have to move up a single floor once they were inside. 

They finished the last preparations a few hours before they had to leave for the Gala, which left Clark with enough time to get changed. Alfred had prepared his new suit on his bed. To his surprise he found that someone, probably Alfred as well, had picked out new glasses for him. They were thin and silver and looked like they might belong to a professor. Clark tried them on, and almost had to laugh at how badly they fitted the rest of his normal outfit. He supposed he should put on the rest of the outfit first.

The suit fitted well and the fabric felt nice on his skin. The thin green tie was cut differently from the ones he wore at work, and it somehow made him look more like his age. For work he usually tried to appear older, hoping it would make him look a little more professional. He knew he should be used to it because of his secret identity, but he was once more surprised how much clothes could change one’s appearances. 

He met Diana in the foyer. She complemented his look and fixed his hair a little.

“I didn’t know you could look sophisticated” she teased. Clark stuck his tongue out at her and she laughed.

Bruce joined them a few minutes later, looking amazing in his black suit. It felt a little surreal to see him dressed up like this, since Clark usually only saw pictures of Bruce in expensive suits on the cover of magazines. Something in his expression changed a little when he saw Clark.

“You look…” he said, pausing as if not sure what to say, “different”. 

Clark could hear Diana sigh. “Yeah” he said, not sure if he should be offended. 

“Come on, let’s go” Bruce said, walking past the two of them as if he hadn’t been the one to make them wait.

Diana rolled her eyes at Clark. “Good luck!” she said. Clark waved at her as he followed Bruce.

They arrived at the Gala on time, hoping they would get lost between more famous celebrities. It was a semi success. Clark could hear journalists whispering Bruce’s name as they walked up the steps to the main entrance followed by the flash of cameras. He turned his face away. Thankfully no one stopped Bruce for an interview and Clark felt a lot of tension falling from him once they entered the building. Someone showed them to an elevator and they were headed towards the 21st floor, in which Clark knew the event space was located. 

“Well done” he could hear Diana’s voice in his ear. “There is a camera in the elevator, so keep up the play” she said.

Clark had to stop himself from looking up to search for the camera. Bruce looked into the mirror and fixed his tie in pretty convincing vanity. The lift stopped and Bruce took his arm. He led him into the main hall. Someone handed him a glass of champagne and Clark thankfully remembered the right way to hold it. The two of them found a bar table in a quiet corner and prepared themselves to lay low for the next hour until it would be safe to wander off. 

Clark let his eyes wander through the room. It was strange to be invited to one of the events he usually was trying to avoid writing about. A live band was playing and all the guests tried to show off their wealth as much as possible. He tried not to think about how much good could been done if all the money that had went into clothing for the event had actually gone towards the charity it was trying to promote.

“Awful, isn’t it?” Bruce asked. 

Clark gave him a surprised look. All their conversations would be part of their disguise and he wasn’t sure whether he should agree. But Bruce didn’t seem to need him to reply.

“At least I brought some interesting company with me tonight” he said with a playful smile at Clark. “You won’t believe how boring most of these people are”.

Alright. Clark just had to keep the conversation going. “Surely it isn’t that bad, Mr. Wayne” he said.

Bruce shook his head. “The only thing these people talk about is money and Golf and I don’t care about either” he announced. He leaned over the table and pointed at a middle aged man. “I once met this guy at a charity event in Gotham. I think it even was my own party, but who knows. Anyway, he had already had a few drinks and he was telling me about his latest vacation”. He had found a flow and started to tell an anecdote. Bruce’s heartbeat told him, that he was not making the story up, and Clark found himself listening, exited to learn more about Bruce’s live as a Billionaire. 

The story was pretty funny and Clark didn’t even have to pretend to be laughing. He could see something like satisfaction in Bruce’s eyes. It looked like he was actively trying to entertain him while they waited in the only way their cover allowed. He noticed himself leaning in over the table to listen more closely. Maybe the evening wouldn’t be as bad as he had expected.

Clark had no idea how much time had passed when his earpiece made a sound. “Watch out, there is a lady coming towards you” Diana said. Clark had almost forgotten she was there. Bruce stuttered a little, trying to keep talking like nothing had happened. He purposefully kept his eyes on Clark, ignoring the woman in the blue cocktail dress that was headed for their table.

He acted surprised when she joined their table and hugged her with a bright smile. Apparently they had been starring in an advertisement together a few years ago. Clark was quickly introduced, but he mostly kept out of the conversation. It wasn’t long until the woman’s husband appeared and put an arm around her, giving Bruce a wary look. He quickly took over the conversation, explaining to his wife why she and Bruce had both been wrong on a topic. He didn’t strike Clark as very sympathetic.

Bruce took his arm and pulled him away from the table. “Come on, let’s explore a little” he said. Clark gave an apologetic look to their company and followed him. As soon as a normal person would have been out of earshot he heard them whisper something behind them. As he understood what they had said he blushed and he accidently squeezed Bruce’s arm a little too tight. Bruce suppressed a curse as Clark almost broke it. He quickly took the force out of his grip feeling Bruce’s questioning look.

“They’re implying we’re…” Clark tried to explain himself, blushing harder.

Bruce rolled his eyes. “Good, let them” he said.

Clark had to stop himself from actually breaking his arm this time. “But…” he wanted to argue, trying hard not to imagine what it would be like to sneak off to make out with Bruce.

“It’s the best cover we could ask for” he said. “Come on, darling”. Now it was Clark’s turn to roll his eyes.

Bruce pretended to be drunk, hardly supporting himself on Clark as they made their way towards the door. The few people who noticed them either tactfully ignored them or simply made an ironic remark before returning to something more interesting. As soon as they left the room, Diana took over.

“Take the second corridor to your left” she said. They followed her instructions, quickly leaving the Gala behind. “Alfred has put the Cameras into a loop. You are out of view now”.

Bruce stepped out of Clark’s space, walking normal again. The quick change from Bruce Wayne to Batman almost made Clark dizzy. He tried not to feel sad about the loss of touch. The two of them had to be quiet, sometimes only being a corridor away from the security staff. They took the emergency stairs to the floor above, avoiding the cameras in the elevators. Since Bruce had hacked into the systems, Diana could easily open the door to the laboratory once they reached it.

It looked different than Clark had expected a secret evil lab to look like. There was significant less green light and no test tubes with glowing liquids. It was mainly advanced-looking PCs and empty coffee cups. There were multiple lines of coding written down on a whiteboard and a few people had left comments in different colors next to it. 

“Please watch the Door” Bruce said as he turned his attention to one of the PCs. He pulled a small USB stick out of his jacket’s pocket and plugged it in. Clark supposed he should let Brue explain this stuff to him someday, since he had no idea what was going on. For now he concentrated on watching their surroundings.

Everyone was focused on the Gala, so most of the floor was empty. There were two security guards next to the elevators, probably to make sure that no drunken guests accidently went to the wrong floor. For now they were save. 

Bruce leaned back. “I’m decoding their data. It might take a few moments for me to get access.” Clark could see multiple numbers moving on the screen as the program from the USB stick did its job.

“It’s alright. We are alone for now” he said. 

Bruce nodded. They sat in silence until multiple folders full of Data appeared on the screen. Bruce leaned forward to inspect them.

“This is a lot” he mumbled. Not knowing what else to do, Clark watched him work over his shoulder. “It seems like we got access to Luthor’s secret network. There are the locations of most of his labs and some of his contacts… Too much to work through now, but I should be able to figure out which satellites he is using”.

He started typing something into a console and a few pages full of numbers appeared. They seemed to be telling Bruce something as a little smile appeared on his face.

“I’m making copies of all of this” Bruce explained and Clark could see a progress bar as the Data was moved to the stick. “Also I’m leaving behind a virus” he said. “It’ll cover up my tracks and fry their systems in a few days. Hopefully no one will make connections to the Gala by then”.

Clark was about to say something mindful like “Sounds cool” when suddenly he heard the sounds of the elevator doors opening. He turned his head towards the sound. There was a female voice saying “Sorry, I forgot my phone” to the guards and footsteps coming closer fast.

“Did you hear something?” Bruce asked, noticing his movement.

Clark nodded. He quickly scanned the room and saw a phone laying on a desk. “Someone is coming” he said.

Bruce quickly unplugged the screen, hoping that the PC would look turned off on casual glance. The data transfer was almost finished and Bruce left the USB stick plugged in, hoping it wouldn’t be noticed. The steps were now close enough for even Bruce to hear. The two of them were still in the middle of the room. There was no time to hide.

“Sorry” Bruce whispered, as he pushed Clark against a desk and kissed him, wrapping a leg around him and leaning his full weight onto him. Clark automatically wrapped an arm around him.

The door opened just in that moment and Clark had no time to act surprised. The steps stopped and he pulled away a little to look over Bruce’s shoulder. A young woman in a lab coat stood in the door, looking mildly shocked. 

“Uh sorry, I’ll…” she turned around and pretty much fled the room. Clark watched her leave, surprised Bruce’s tactic had worked.

The second the door closed, Bruce stepped away from him, his face in a neutral Batman expression. He quickly received the USB stick and plugged the screen back in. Clark tried to pull himself together and slow down his breath again. There were more important thing to do right now than to mentally play back the kiss in detail.

He listened to the steps of the woman leaving when he noticed something unusual. Bruce’s heart was beating almost twice as fast as normally. Clark had to admit he knew his heartrate better than most people’s. It had to be that fast because they had almost gotten caught, right?

“Come on, I’m sure she’ll be back with security once she got over her surprise” Bruce said, no trace of his emotion in his voice.

The two of them left the way they came. Once they were halfway down the stairs he could hear the woman tell the security people about the guests in the laboratory. Clark thankfully realized that she didn’t mention Bruce Wayne. After all, his face had been turned away from the door and a scientist from metropolis probably wouldn’t recognize the back of a Gotham celebrity. Bruce had planned for this, he realized. It was a miracle how this man reacted so fast without super speed. 

They got close to the Gala. Bruce stopped to loosen his tie and open up a few buttons of his shirt. He messed up Clark’s hair, who gave him a questioning look.

“For the cover. Let’s have another Drink and then leave” he said, walking in before Clark could protest.

He followed Bruce to the Bar and didn’t even have to pretend to be flustered. They ordered some light drinks, and thankfully were left alone this time. Diana kept them updated on the security situation.

“They are searching the lab for intruders. The woman who saw you only described you as two very drunk people and doesn’t seem to recall any more details. Nice job with the distraction” she said.

Clark had to stop himself from giggling. He was in high spirits from the Adrenaline left in his body. He took a sip from his drink instead.

“Just don’t ruin it with a hasty exit” Diana warned.

Bruce rolled his eyes for only Clark to see, before falling back into his Bruce Wayne persona, chatting about some trip he had once made to an exotic island. Clark leaned back and relaxed a little, glad to be in the center of Bruce’s attention a little longer.

When they made it back to the car, the two of them were still euphoric about the successful mission. Clark loved moments like these, when even Bruce let his walls down a little. Instead of talking about the mission, he was gossiping about the attendees of the Gala, especially making fun of his Bruce Wayne act. Clark smiled all the way back to Gotham.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wish you all a happy 2020!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! This will probably get pretty long, so I appreciate feedback. English is not my first language, but I hope there are not too many mistakes left (let me know about embarrassing ones tho).


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